Why in the news?
The National Research Foundation Bill, 2023 which seeks to repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 has been introduced in the Parliament recently.
What is the status of Research & Development (R&D) in India?
1. Research spending in India stands at 0.65% of GDP while US spends 2.8%, China-2.1%, Isreal-4.3% and South Korea spends 4.2%.
2. R&D spending in India has declined from 0.84% of GDP in 2008 to 0.69% of GDP in 2014.
3. Private investments in R&D slipped to 0.64% of GDP in 2020-21 from 0.76% of GDP in 2011-12.
What are the provisions of National Research Foundation bill?
1) Objectives of the bill:
a. To strengthen the research eco-system and development in the country.
b. To inculcate a culture of Innovation in R&D ecosystem
c. To develop a research ecosystem across all universities, colleges, research institutions and R&D laboratories across the country.
2) Establishment of National Research Foundation
a. It will act as an apex body to spear-head high-level strategic direction of Research and Development as per recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) prepared by Kasturirangan Committee (2019).
b. It will be established at a total estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crores during five years (2023-28). Of this amount, the government shall support with ₹ 14,000 crore, while the remaining ₹ 36,000 crore will be mobilised through industry and other private philanthropic sources.
c. Administrative Department of NRF: Department of Science & Technology
d. Governing Board – To govern Administrative Department of NRF
i. Eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines
ii. Ex-officio President of the Board: Prime Minister
iii. ex-officio Vice-Presidents: Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education
e. Executive Council – To govern functioning of NRF
i. Chair - Principal Scientific Adviser to the GoI.
3) Repeal of Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 to subsume it under the provisions of NRF.
4) The funds available with all the Ministries will be integrated in NRF 
5) What is the significance of the bill?
a. Create a platform for collaborations among scientific communities, ministries, private players and academic institutions, thus enabling
i. Growth of needed Innovation in wide range of disciplines relevant to national priorities.
ii. Multiple research funding agencies to pool in their resources.
b. Synergy of purposes and avoid duplication of efforts and expenditure.
c. Emphasis on "need-based" research shall benefit all the sections of the society especially the vulnerable population.
With criticality of Research & Development ever increasing in the technologically driven world, investments in intellectual capital and new knowledge is the way out to achieve economic prosperity of the country.
About:
Research & Development in India:
The stakeholders involved in R&D:
Objectives of Indian R&D initiatives:
1. To develop low-cost indigenous innovations for bringing out basic scientific solutions.
2. To improve science-based knowledge and awareness among public, especially among rural and remote area population.
3. To handle national medical and natural emergencies effectively.
4. Reduce dependency on imports and focus on “invest in India, produce in India” for achieving the goal of self-reliant India.
5. To handle the climate change vagaries using technological interventions.
Challenges faced by the R&D sector in India:
1. Poor funding mechanism
a. Consistent decline in R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP even though the absolute expenditure has increased over the years and far below the global average if 2.2% of GDP.
2. Structural issues involving deficiencies in policy decisions, systems and frameworks.
3. Intellectual Property relating to poor filing of patents, delay in approval processes and enforcement of provisions relating to protection of inventions.
How is the R&D sector of India performing currently?
· 14 Indian companies have secured place among the top 1,500 entities globally in terms of their absolute annual R&D investments
· India has turned out be one of the leading offshore destinations in engineering research and development (ER&D) services with a market share of 22 per cent set to reach US$ 37 billion-US$ 45 billion by 2020.
· Sector-wise share of R&D Expenditure:
2. India has become the hub for semiconductor design with ~ 2,000 chips designed every year.
